The Display

It's beautiful. With a resolution of 1440 x 900, it stands head
and shoulders above competing tablets and the individual pixels
are pretty much impossible to pick out. I use my iPad 2
every day, and the Nook's superior screen quality is jarring. And
yes, the screen resolution is noticeably better than Apple's iPad
Mini.

Videos look great, pictures pop in comic books and magazines, and
the text looks like ink instead of pixels. And displaying
beautiful text matters a lot for an e-reader.

Hardware And Design

The physical object itself strikes me as unremarkable, but that's
to an e-reader's advantage. I don't want to be aware of the
object I'm holding, I'd rather be engrossed in the movie I'm
watching or book I'm reading. There are minimal buttons on the
device, just a power button and volume button on opposite sites,
and a Nook logo-shaped home button on the bottom.

It feels good in your hands and holding it for extended reading
periods in bed or on the couch is completely comfortable.

The software

Barnes & Noble took the same approach that Amazon did with
its Kindle
Fire tablet, baking up its own custom build of Android.
It came together really well–the interface is easy to navigate,
visually appealing, and intuitive to use.

There's a multi-user option if a family wants to share the Nook
HD. Each user can maintain his or her own settings and data, so
the experience is unique and tailored to each person.

The "Your Nook Today" feature is pretty handy for people always
on the hunt for cool new stuff to read. It's a recommendation
engine that suggests new books based on what you've already read
or what you're interested in. These are obviously readily
available for purchase from Barnes & Noble.

You also have access to a perfectly straightforward web browser
and email client to keep you connected when you're on Wi-Fi.

And what would a solid tablet be without third-party apps? The
Nook HD has plenty to offer, but the volume is nowhere near that
of the iTunes App
Store or Google
Play. Because the device is running a special homegrown version
of Android, developers have to submit their apps separately to
Barnes & Noble. This hasn't stopped the big brand-name
developers from bringing their more notable apps and utilities to
the tablet, such as Angry
Birds Space, Hulu, or
Evernote.

As for the operating system itself, the device operated just fine
for me for several days, then crashed three times as I was
writing this review. Take note that Barnes & Noble will push
an over-the-air update to its devices soon that will hopefully
fix this, but for now, the software is a little buggy.

Complaints

I have two major bones to pick with the Nook HD.

For a device that so badly wants to be your central media
consumption hub, the lack of an integrated music player is
extremely surprising.

And a proprietary dock connector/charger? I'm getting
increasingly tired of these every day.

Should you buy it?

If you're a reader first, absolutely. The Nook HD is one of very
few devices that seems legitimately designed first and foremost
to have the best reading experience possible. The ability to
watch movies and run apps are a bonus here, not the other way
around.